This is the event that the whole Las Fallas festival leads up to. All those fantastic Falla sculptures are burned to the ground. There’s no way to see them all. You pick one you want to watch and stake out a spot. We chose the one named “Que se mueran los feos” which translates to “May the ugly ones die”. It cost over 100,000 Euro to build. It is located just north of the dry river bed and is easy to get to from our hotel and has the added benefit of not being in a cramped little street corner or the one in the city center, all of which are very difficult to get to and very, very crowded.

This is what our Falla looks like in all of its pre-Crema glory

We arrived just before midnight to stake out our spot. The burning was only about 20-30 minutes late as we waited for the fire men to get in to position. There was a sudden detonation of some aerial fireworks and then the lights went out and this happened.

And POOF!

All gone!

We walked back to our hotel exhausted, but satisfied. Tomorrow we head off to Madrid to spend the night and the fly back to Houston for some much needed rest and relaxation.

The Cabalgata del Fuego (Fire Parade) is one of the highlights of the festival. The Falleras parade down the street followed by an amazing group of pyrotechnic specialists who put on one heck of a fire show. Words can’t really describe this event. Hopefully my photos will convey the spirit.

We were pretty tired after this, but we needed to stay up for the Crema which happens at midnight, give or take. That will be in the next update.

Today is our last full day in Valencia. We’re tired but managing. We’re still under the weather, but Cynthia is much improved.

After two days of The Ofrenda, The Virgin is complete.

She is beautiful. We got out early to see her and beat the crowds.

We decided to spend the day at L’Oceanogràfic in the City of Arts And Sciences complex. L’Oceanogràfic is the worlds largest salt water aquarium and is something to see if you like aquariums. Probably the best in the world.

I think the best feature of L’Oceanogràfic is the Beluga Whale. This guy seems to ham it up for the camera.

After visiting the aquarium we walked back to the hotel, stoping to take a few daylight photos of the City Of Arts And Sciences.

When we got to the hotel we knew we were going to need to get some rest. This is the final day of Las Fallas and the two most important events happen this evening. The Cabalgata del Fuego (Fire Parade) and The Crema (burning) of the Fallas where the burn all the sculpture to the ground.

We took the day and walked around the area near the Ruzafa district where there are some magnificent Fallas

That night we stumbled upon the most magnificent Galician restaurant called A `Peregrina which is Spanish for “Of The Pilgrim” or something similar. The whole restaurant is themed in a style you might expect to see if you were walking the Way Of St. James, a famous pilgrimage Cynthia and I would like to walk some day.

Cynthia had said she just wanted some soup for dinner, but soup is not a common menu item so we decided to see what we could get here. Right after we were seated, the waitress brought us each a bowl of complimentary hot vegetable soup. It was, in a way, a miracle and set the tone for the evening.

Once again we had found a fantastic restaurant with wonderful food and a great atmosphere.

Cynthia did the smart thing and rested most of the day. We did go out in the afternoon as the Ofrenda was beginning. It seems all the marching bands pass right by our hotel so sleeping was futile.

The Ofrenda is when all the people of Valencia put on their traditional costumes and parade in from all corners of the city to offer flower to build the statue of the Virgin Mary in the cathedral square.

After chasing the Falleras for awhile we decided to go to the City Of Arts And Sciences so I could take some night shots.

Later in the evening we found this restaurant called Alma del Temple that was simply fantastic.

Everything was presented well and the restaurant itself had a nice atmosphere. Oddly, the music playing over the sound system was 80’s gothic new wave. Bands like The Cure and Joy Division with some Brian Ferry and the like sprinkled in. I enjoyed it quite a lot and asked our waiter about it. Turns out it was his selection of music. I let him know I appreciated it and that seems to please him to no end.

We had a bottle of wine and enjoyed our meal and finished the evening off with a coffee and postre (desert)

We’re just back from a fantastic meal at Alma De Temple and after some wonderful food and a bottle of wine I just don’t have it in me to process the images of the day (of which I have some fantastic shots) so I am just going to give you the latest on our medical situation.

We’ve both been a bit more ill than we would care to admit.

We both managed to catch whatever that funky virus is that’s currently spreading from the UK (thanks a lot, Brits!) Sore throats, lots of congestion and body aches. It has made for some restless nights and has made Cynthia quite upset.

I, being the quick healer that I am, was through the worst of it in a few days. Cynthia, on the other hand, has had a more difficult time shaking it. On top of the virus she ended up with dual eye conjunctivitis which caused her eyes to swell up and fill with mucus (blech). And to add insult to injury there’s apparently a giant pollen explosion going on here in Spain which is making it even worse for her.

We spoke to the proprietors of the hotel and they said they could call a doctor and I told them to please do so.

The doctor came to the hotel (free of charge) and diagnosed Cynthia with conjunctivitis in both eyes and faringitis and prescribed medicine for the virus and the conjunctivitis and also dispensed quite a bit of useful tips for getting over this.

A modest walk to the pharmacy and the prescriptions were filled for under 15 euro.

Cynthia took it easy today and her stress levels are way down. She’s in the best spirits she’s been in in days. I’ve got her iPad filled with a few seasons of Torchwood to keep her occupied while I went out and take photos.

Later in the afternoon Cynthia was up for some roaming around and we set out to take some photos of the Falleras and the Ofrenda. We followed that up with a trip to the City Of Arts And Sciences and then a fine dinner.

Today Cynthia woke up in pretty bad shape. While the one eye is getting better, the other is starting to have trouble. She is very fatigued and in need of rest.

We had scheduled lunch with our friend Manel who we met during our first visit to Valencia. When he arrived at the hotel Cynthia simply didn’t have the energy to accompany us. This was unfortunate as Manel speaks little English and I speak little Spanish. Cynthia usually acts as the translator, but today we were on our own.

Manel and I had a good time using our iPhones to make the more difficult translations and it was a fun morning, if not slightly comical.

We made our way back to the hotel so I could check in on Cynthia and so that Manel could make his way to his other commitments. When I check with the desk clerk, Cynthia had left a note saying that she was feeling better and had walked over to the park to enjoy some sunshine and fresh air.

When she did make her way to the room she was looking to be in pretty good spirits, but confided that while sitting on a park bench and enjoying the various dogs and birds passing and flying overhead she apparently looked so sad and pathetic that a passing cyclist stopped and offered her food (which she politely declined).

Suffice to say, she was mortified. It took me some time to convince her that she did not look like a wretched, diseased homeless person with a bad eye.

Since Cynthia was feeling better we decided go for a walk and get some lunch. We enjoyed sitting outside the restaurant and soaking in the sunshine.

After lunch we went back to the room and had a siesta.

When we woke up we were both feeling a bit better. I wanted to go to the City of Arts and Sciences to take some photos and Cynthia was going to go see some things she wanted to see. I ended up making a short trip of it as the City of Arts and Sciences was having some kind of event and I couldn’t really get the shots I wanted. When I got back to the hotel I ran into Cynthia who was excited that she was able to photograph an unusual pigeon we had spotted a few days ago.

We suspect he has been painted by someone. The bird seems ok and flies around the plaza without a problem.

We took the rest of the afternoon and evening to do some more site seeing. We’re still not 100% but we’re not giving up.

Tomorrow and Monday are the days of the Ofrenda when the women of Valencia parade in to the Plaza Of The Virgin and offer to her their prayers and carnations. The carnations are used to make Mary’s gown. It’s quite a site.

Sad to say, we are still quite under the weather. Last night was the worst. To make matters even more gruesome, Cynthia’s right eye is having some issues. We suspect a scratch on the eyelid that was likely inflicted during all the tossing and turning last night. She’s a little stressed about it, understandably.

It’s up and down. We sleep and it’s fitful. We get up and move around and we get back to something approaching normal. I think we are on the mend, but it’s slow going. Perhaps tonight we’ll sleep through…if we’re lucky.

We’re keeping our spirits up. The festival is still amazing and it’s picking up steam as the fallas continue to be set up all over town. And the crowds are growing.

You can tell the festival is truly getting underway as the explosions are happening with greater frequency. Festival goers, armes with fireworks the size of M80s and larger, are detonating at will all over town and all day long. The explosions bounce of the stone walls and echo down the streets. Tonight will not be quiet, but I don’t recall it being all that bothersome. You actually kind of get used to it.

We have made our way to Valencia via the high speed AVE train. The train reached speeds of over 180 mph so it took about 1 hour and 40 minutes.

We’re still not feeling great. I have a sore throat as does Cynthia and we’re both hacking and wheezing. The Madrid air is pretty dirty and it was colder than we expected so we think those things contributed to our ill-health.

But remain undaunted. After checking in to the hotel we took a walk and picked up some supplies. We then retuned to the hotel and enjoyed a siesta. When we awoke we were feeling much better and set out to see some sites.

It is the day before what is known as La Planta. La Planta is when all of the falla sculptures are finally put in place. Still, there are some already up and many others being built.

Our favorite falla so far is one that depicts the Garden of Eden

The interesting detail is Steve Jobs sitting atop the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, complete with Apple products like a Macbook and an iPad.

We’re calling it an early night as we continue to recuperate. Hopefully tomorrow we’ll be closer to full strength.

I think we have pushed ourselves a little too hard. Both Cynthia and I are both under the weather. Coughing, congested and fatigued. I have the tell tale body aches of a mild flue.

We went out this morning to take in a few sites, but our physical condition combined with the 35 degree temperatures had us retreating back to the hotel after only a few hours out and about.

We took a nice siesta and then ventured out for some lunch and came back to the hotel for another siesta.

When we woke up we just stayed in the room watching TV and waited to see who the next Pope would be.

Later in the evening we found a restaurant to have some dinner. Hot soup and some grilled chicken for me and a bean soup and some grilled eggplant for Cynthia.

This has greatly lifted our spirits. We’re going to stay in the hotel tonight and relax. Tomorrow we take the train to Valencia for the Las Fallas Festival. This is going to be one giant party and we’ll be up all hours of the night and day so I think it is good we conserve our strength.

It seems to me that this was a lot less strenuous in years past. They say you are only as old as you feel. Today I feel as old as Methuselah.